Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/57530
Year of Publication: 
2010
Series/Report no.: 
Papers on Economics and Evolution No. 1007
Publisher: 
Max Planck Institute of Economics, Jena
Abstract: 
It has been suggested that, by generalizing Darwinian principles, a common foundation can be derived for all scientific disciplines dealing with evolutionary processes, especially for evolutionary economics. In this paper we show, however, that the principles of such a Generalized Darwinism are not those that in the development of evolutionary biology have been crucial for distinguishing Darwinian from non-Darwinian approaches and, hence, cannot be considered genuinely Darwinian. Moreover, we wonder how Generalized Darwinism can be made fruitful for evolutionary economics given that its principles are but an abstract hull that does not suffice to explain actual evolutionary processes in the economy. To that end specific hypotheses are required which neither follow from, nor are necessarily compatible with, the suggested abstract principles. Accordingly, we find little evidence in the literature for the claim that Generalized Darwinism can enhance the explanatory power of an evolutionary approach to economics.
Subjects: 
Darwinism
evolution
evolutionary economics
'Generalized Darwinism'
variation
selection
retention
JEL: 
B25
B40
B52
Persistent Identifier of the first edition: 
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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